Seek to Please Him
To truly love God, we must seek to please Him in all things, with a single eye to His service, and by obeying Him, we strengthen our faith and love.
Mary Wilder Tileston, through the words of Frederick Temple and Edward B. Pusey, emphasizes the intertwining of love and duty in fulfilling God's commandments. Love encompasses duty and is essential for a genuine relationship with God. Tileston encourages believers to find joy in obeying God in all aspects of life, whether in ordinary tasks or significant decisions, with the aim of pleasing Him and deepening their love for Him.
Text
I will run the way of Thy commandments, when Thou shalt enlarge my heart.
PSALMS 119:32
My hands also will I lift up unto Thy commandments, which I have loved.
PSALMS 119:48
LOVE is higher than duty. But the reason is that love in reality contains duty in itself. Love without a sense of duty is a mere delusion, from which we cannot too soon set ourselves free. Love is duty and something more.
FREDERICK TEMPLE
THINK not anything little, wherein we may fulfil His commandments. It is in the midst of common and ordinary duties that our life is placed; common occupations make up our lives. By faith and love we obey; but by obedience are the faith and love, which God gives us, strengthened. Then shall we indeed love our Lord, when we seek to please Him in all things, speak or are silent, sleep or wake, labor or rest, do or suffer, with a single eye to His service. God give us grace so to love Him, that we may in all things see Him; in all, obey; and, obeying, see Him more clearly and love Him less unworthily; and so, in that blissful harmony of obedience and of love, be prepared to see Him "face to face."
EDWARD B. PUSEY
Sermon Outline
- The Importance of Pleasing God
- The Nature of Love and Duty
- Seeking to Please God in All Things
- We should seek to please God in all things, with a single eye to His service
- Obedience strengthens our faith and love, which God gives us
Key Quotes
“Love is higher than duty. But the reason is that love in reality contains duty in itself.” — Mary Wilder Tileston
“Then shall we indeed love our Lord, when we seek to please Him in all things, speak or are silent, sleep or wake, labor or rest, do or suffer, with a single eye to His service.” — Mary Wilder Tileston
Application Points
- We should seek to please God in all things, with a single eye to His service.
- Obedience to God strengthens our faith and love, which He gives us.
- By seeking to please God, we can deepen our relationship with Him and love Him more.